Anthony chuckled. “Well, if you can withstand a conversation with her, that will be the worst of it, I’m afraid.”
“I assure you, I don’t look forward to it.” Thea turned her attention toward the front of the ballroom to see who else had arrived. Her gaze roved around several new faces, until—
She gasped. She froze. She clutched her brother’s arm.
“Anthony,” she managed to choke out in a strangled whisper.
Anthony bent down to hear her better, his brow furrowed. “Yes, what is it?”
“Why isLord Claytonhere?” And it was indeed Clayton. He was standing near the entrance talking to Father, smiling and laughing. Clayton wore impeccable black evening attire with a white shirt, white cravat, and white satin waistcoat. He was so handsome she felt it in her knees, which trembled. She clutched at her brother’s strong arm for support.
Anthony turned to follow her gaze. He expelled a sigh. “I was afraid he might come.”
“What? You knew he was invited?” Thea tried to keep her rising panic from her voice, but she knew she had failed.
“He’s invited every year, Thea. He’s our neighbor. He just doesn’t usually attend. He prefers to spend Christmastide in London. Or has in the past at least. I thought you knew. Didn’t you see the guest list this year?”
“Father told me Mrs. Lowry was handling it. With my injury, he told me not to worry about the party this year other than playing hostess when the time came.” Thea was trying to get her breathing back to rights, but it was becoming more and more difficult as Clayton’s blue gaze swung around the ballroom and seemed to locate her immediately. Their eyes locked. Thea’s heart pounded in her chest so hard it hurt.
“Why has he come this year?” she asked Anthony, unable to stop staring at Clayton.
“I don’t know,” Anthony replied. “I am surprised to see him here. I do hope Father didn’t encourage it.”
“I hope so too.” Thea downed the contents of her spiked lemonade and handed the empty glass to her brother. She waited for the drink to burn its way into her belly and for Ewan to move on from her father’s company near the door, then she made her move. Keeping a false smile plastered to her face, she trailed to where her father held court near entrance to the ballroom and touched his sleeve. “May I speak to you for a moment, Father,” she said in her most-pleasant voice, drawing her father away from the company.
“Yes, of course, dear,” Father replied, his own false smile plastered to his face. In front of company, they were nothing but polite to each other.
Thea drew her father out into the corridor and into the sitting room near the foyer before shutting the door behind them. Thankfully, the room was empty of guests. A few candles burned in candlesticks spaced throughout the room.
“Lord Clayton is here,” she said simply to her father’s impatiently inquiring look.
“Yes, I know. I invited him,” Father replied succinctly.
Thea tried to keep her face blank and to remove the emotion from her voice. “Why could you possibly have thought it was a good idea to invite him after the scandal?”
Her father gave her a long-suffering look. “Theodora, I honestly thought it would be more scandalous to choosenotto invite him. He usually sends his regrets.”
She swallowed the growing lump in her throat and pushed an errant curl behind her ear. “Did he saywhyhe decided to comethisyear?”
“He did not,” Father replied, giving her a tight smile. “And I did not ask him. However, given the assistance he’s been to our family this year, it would have been beyond rude of me to have left him off the guest list.”
“I suppose that’s one way to look at it,” Thea allowed, running a gloved hand down her middle. It did nothing to quell the rioting nerves in her belly, however.
“It’s theonlyway to look at it,” Father retorted. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I intend to return to my guests. I assume you’ll be able to gather yourself and return to the ballroom momentarily?”
She nodded curtly. Once. “Yes. Of course. But I daresay Clayton’s presence here will only serve to stir up more gossip.”
Her father paused with his fingers on the door handle. He did not look back at her. “I’ve no intention of asking him to leave, Theodora. If you don’t wish to stir up gossip, I suggest you steer clear of him.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
After her father left the drawing room, Thea spent the next few moments trying to gather her thoughts. She began by taking a deep breath and folding her hands together in front of her. She shook her head slightly. She mustn’t make a bigger deal about this than she already had. If she were to purposely steer clear of the viscount, it would seem as if she had something to hide. Instead, she would re-enter the ballroom, greet him as she would any other guest, and continue about her business. Yes, that was precisely how she should handle the fact that Lord Clayton was standing in her ballroom even now, looking more handsome than Adonis come to life.
Good plan. Quite solid. She straightened her shoulders and ran a hand down the front of her gown once more. Then she poked the mistletoe back into her coiffure more tightly.
She turned toward the door and began to walk toward it when it unexpectedly opened and Viscount Clayton himself slipped inside.
“There you are,” he said, expelling his breath.
